1811	Action off Lissa	355

and destructive fire. Although particularly careful not to fire into her late consort, some of the Bellona's shot appear to have struck the Flore, who had imperceptibly forereached upon the Amphion. Conceiving the shot to come from the Amphion, one of the officers of the Flore took the French ensign, halliards and all, and, holding them up in his hands over the taffrail, as if for the Amphion's people to witness the act, threw the whole into the sea.

After an ineffectual attempt, owing to the damaged state of her rigging and yard-tackle, to hoist out a boat to take possession of the Flore, the Amphion bore up to close and silence the Bellona. Having wore round on the starboard tack, and taken a position on the Bellona's weather bow, the Amphion poured in one or two broadsides ; and at a few minutes before noon compelled the Bellona to haul down the Venetian, as the Flore had the French colours. In the mean time the Mercure brig had also been firing occasionally at the Amphion; but an 18-pounder was at length brought to bear upon her, and the brig soon swept herself beyond the reach of either giving or receiving annoyance. Lieutenant Donat Henchy O'Brien, by Captain Hoste's s orders, now went with two seamen in the punt, and took possession of the Bellona.

Having secured this prize, the Amphion wore round ; and, making the signal for a general chase, brought to on the larboard tack, a little to leeward of the Cerberus and Volage, whose greatly disabled state had obliged them to bear up. The Amphion had now the mortification to see her first and most valuable prize, the Flore, out of gun-shot on her weather bow, making sail for the island of Lessina ; and towards whom the Danaé presently edged away, as if to encourage the Flore's commander in the dishonourable act : dishonourable indeed, for the French ship, had lain, for some time, at the mercy of the Amphion. The Active also, until she made sail after the Corona, might have sunk the Flore, and probably would have taken possession of her, but that it did not comport with Captain Gordon's spirit, to stay by a beaten enemy, while a fighting enemy remained to be subdued ; above all, when a friend stood in need of his assistance. Had even the Cerberus or Volage been aware that the prize was not secured, either ship, as the Flore passed them, might have sent a boat and taken possession of her, having had her rigging sails cut to pieces, and expecting her foremast every moment to fall, the Amphion was as much incapacitated from giving chase as the Cerberus and Volage.

The surrender of the Flore and Bellona, the escape of the former, and the closing of the Active with the Corona, we have attempted to show by the following diagram.

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